Elian huffed a quiet laugh. “I’m her brother, which means I notice things other people miss.” His gaze sharpened. “And I know you, at least enough to know you don’t look at others the way you look at her.”
“That doesn’t mean I’m good for her,” Hektor said, the words coming out rougher than he intended.
“It means you’re trying. And that already puts you ahead of most.”
“She deserves more than…whatever this is.”
Elian studied him for a beat, then nodded. “Maybe. But what she deserves more is someone who doesn’t lie to her. Someone who doesn’t run when it gets real.”
Hektor swallowed, his chest tightening. Elian clapped a hand on his shoulder, not unkindly.
“I’m not asking you to promise forever,” Elian said. “I’m asking you not to break her by pretending this doesn’t matter.”
“I…I don’t know what to say,” Hektor admitted.
Elian’s eyes softened, but his expression stayed firm. “You don’t have to know, bro. You just have to go. Show up. That’s all she needs right now.”
Hektor’s jaw clenched. He had spent hours overthinking, turning countless scenarios over in his mind, and yet here it was: the simplest solution, and the hardest thing to do.
It felt impossible. How could he get to her now? The distance, the timing, all of it seemed stacked against him. But he couldn’t just let it be. He clenched his fists, determination hardening in his chest.
“I’ll figure out a way,” he muttered to himself, his mind already racing through every option, every route, every chance he could take.
He couldn’t lose her, not like this.
Chapter 14
Zara
“Honey, are you awake?”
Zara jolted awake at the sound of her mother’s voice and the sharp rapping at her door.
Omg, I’m late for class! I have my Physics midterms to?—
Then reality hit her.
She was at her parents’ home in Santa Fe, but she wasn’t in junior year.
A fresh wave of pain washed over her as soon as she was fully aware of the circumstances that led her here.
I should have known.
Some empath she was.
After their conversation, there was no way she could stay there. And so, she took Hektor’s car and drove all night until she reached Alindale.
Unfortunately, there was no hiding from Elian and Liora what happened.
Not that she tried.
They were triplets and they’d shared everything since birth. Once she finished telling them what happened, they reactedpretty much how she thought they would—Elian with pensive, but supportive silence and Liora with threats of bodily harm.
Both, however, agreed on one thing: she couldn’t stay in Alindale. At least not for the time being.
And so, she decided to go home.
Back to the Upperworld.
